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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Education | Washington schools show mixed results in switch to new standardized tests | Seattle Times Newspaper

Education | Washington schools show mixed results in switch to new standardized tests | Seattle Times Newspaper

Washington schools show mixed results in switch to new standardized tests

After administering the Washington Assessment of Student Learning for 12 years, state school districts always knew how students stacked up compared with the previous year's class — or even a class a decade ago.

Seattle Times staff reporters


After administering the Washington Assessment of Student Learning for 12 years, state school districts always knew how students stacked up compared with the previous year's class — or even a class a decade ago.

But now the test that served as the state's report card on K-12 education is gone, replaced by two new tests that are shorter and, in some subject areas, measure different standards. And state officials are unsure how to interpret the results — calling them a mixed bag, from grade to grade and subject to subject
.